TalkJS vs CometChat
Comparing TalkJS and CometChat for in-app chat? This page compares features, compliance, and pricing at three usage levels, with sources and dates.
TalkJS and CometChat are both chat APIs and SDKs with a pre-built chat UI. CometChat adds voice and video calling, native iOS and Android UI kits, HIPAA with a BAA on its Advanced plan, and SOC 2, so if you need those from one vendor, CometChat covers them. TalkJS focuses on chat: you can replace parts of its UI with your own React or Web components, and every plan includes email, SMS, and push notifications without your own SendGrid or Twilio account, unlimited message retention, and chat and email support from engineers.
TalkJS is a chat API and SDK for adding user-to-user chat to web and mobile apps. Its pre-built chat UI comes as React and Web Components that work with any framework, and theme components let you replace parts of it with your own components. Email, SMS, and push notifications are built in on all plans. TalkJS is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR compliant, and hosted in Europe.
- You want email and SMS notifications on every plan, without your own SendGrid or Twilio account
- You want users to answer notification emails from their inbox, with the reply landing in the chat
- You want to replace parts of the chat UI with your own React or Web components
- You need unlimited message retention on every plan
- You want to build and test with every feature in a free development mode
- ISO 27001 and GDPR, with data hosted in Europe, cover your compliance needs
- You want chat and email support from engineers on every plan, and a named Solutions Engineer on Enterprise
CometChat is a chat API and SDK platform with UI kits for web and mobile, including native iOS and Android, and a separate voice and video calling product. Its Advanced plan adds HIPAA with a BAA, AI moderation rules, and email and SMS notifications through your own SendGrid or Twilio account. CometChat has SOC 2, hosts in multiple regions, and offers a dedicated region on Enterprise.
- You need threaded conversations built in
- You want voice and video calling from the same vendor as chat
- You need pre-built UI kits for native iOS or Android
- You need HIPAA with a BAA, or SOC 2
- You want AI moderation built in
- You need a 99.999% uptime SLA (an add-on on the Advanced and Enterprise plans)
- You need hosting in multiple regions, or a dedicated region
Compare TalkJS and CometChat
This table compares TalkJS and CometChat on 34 features in nine groups, as of October 2026. TalkJS includes email, SMS, and reply-by-email notifications on all plans, with unlimited message retention and chat and email support from engineers. CometChat leads on threads, voice and video calling, native iOS and Android UI kits, HIPAA and SOC 2, built-in AI moderation, its uptime SLA add-on, and hosting regions. For a switching guide, see CometChat alternative.
| TalkJS | CometChat | Why it matters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Core messaging | Core messaging | |||||
| 1-on-1 chat | Yes | Yes | Private buyer–seller, support or DM conversations. | |||
| Group chat | Yes Hundreds or thousands of users per chat | Yes Private, public and password groups | Communities, teams and multi-party transactions. | |||
| Typing indicators | Yes | Yes | Shows the other side is replying. | |||
| Read receipts | Yes | Yes Group 'read by all' needs Advanced | Tells senders a message was seen. | |||
Message features and interactions | Message features and interactions | |||||
| Emoji reactions | Yes Emoji reactions per user role | Yes | Acknowledge without a full reply. | |||
| Threads | No (guide to build reply threads) | Yes Threaded conversations and replies | Keeps busy group chats organized. | |||
| Message search | Yes Growth plan and up | Yes All plans (conversation search on Advanced) | Users find earlier messages and conversations. | |||
Content and media | Content and media | |||||
| File sharing | Yes 100 MB max file size, unlimited storage | Yes Photo, video and files, unlimited storage | Documents and images inside the conversation. | |||
| Voice messages | Yes | Yes Voice notes | Async voice notes for mobile users. | |||
| Message translation | Yes Growth plan and up (charged separately) | Yes Advanced plan and up | Users chat across languages. | |||
User experience | User experience | |||||
| Pre-built web UI | Yes React and Web Components (any framework) | Yes React UI Kit (React, Next.js, React Router, Astro) | Ship a working chat UI before building your own. | |||
| UI customization | Theme components: replace parts of the UI with your own React or Web components | CSS variables, sub-components and message plugins | How far the UI can match your product. | |||
| UI localization | Yes 34+ languages | Yes | Launch in more languages without translating the UI yourself. | |||
| Real-time Data API (headless) | Yes JavaScript (web and React Native), Kotlin, Swift and Flutter (Android) | Yes JavaScript, iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native and Unreal | Build your own chat UI on live chat data. | |||
| Pre-built mobile UI | Yes React Native and Flutter | Yes iOS, Android, React Native and Flutter | Ship chat in mobile apps without building the screens yourself. | |||
Notifications | Notifications | |||||
| Push notifications | Yes Mobile and browser push | Yes | Brings mobile users back to the conversation. | |||
| Email notifications | Yes All plans, built in (no third-party account) | Yes Advanced plan, with your own SendGrid account | Reaches users who are offline. | |||
| SMS notifications | Yes All plans (SMS charged separately) | Yes Advanced plan, with your own Twilio account | For urgent messages that can't wait for email. | |||
| Reply via email | Yes All plans (syncs to chat) | Yes Advanced plan | Users answer from their inbox and the reply lands in the chat. | |||
Moderation | Moderation | |||||
| Profanity filter | Yes Word blocklists and regex suppression | Yes Profanity detection and word/pattern rules | Blocks offensive words before they're sent. | |||
| AI moderation | No (through third-party integrations) | Yes Advanced plan and up (OpenAI rules on Enterprise) | Flags toxicity, spam and images at scale. | |||
Security and compliance | Security and compliance | |||||
| GDPR | Yes | Yes | Required for EU users. | |||
| ISO 27001 | Yes | Yes | Common security-review requirement. | |||
| SOC 2 | No | Yes | Common security-review requirement in the United States. | |||
| HIPAA (BAA) | No | Yes Advanced plan and up | Required for healthcare data in the United States. | |||
| SSO for the dashboard | Yes Enterprise plan (OpenID Connect) | Yes Enterprise plan | Central login for your team. | |||
| Data hosting region | Europe | Multi-region (dedicated region as an Enterprise add-on) | Where chat data is stored. | |||
Developer experience and support | Developer experience and support | |||||
| Webhooks | Yes 1 on Basic, 3 on Growth and Enterprise | Yes All plans (more event types on Advanced) | Connect chat events to your backend. | |||
| Free for development | Yes Development mode with all features | Yes Build plan, up to 100 users | Build and test before paying. | |||
| Message retention | Unlimited, all plans | 6 months on all plans (can be extended at extra cost) | How long users can scroll back through their history. | |||
| Uptime SLA | Yes 99.9% on Enterprise | Yes 99.999% as an add-on on Advanced and Enterprise | Contractual availability for production. | |||
| Voice and video calling | No (integrate a calling provider of your choice) | Yes Voice/Video product | In-app calls next to chat. | |||
| Support | Chat and email with engineers, all plans (priority from Growth, named Solutions Engineer on Enterprise) | Ticketed support, all plans (priority support and Solution Engineering at extra cost) | Who helps when the integration gets stuck. | |||
Pricing and usage | Pricing and usage | |||||
| MAU overage rate | $0.04 per extra MAU on Basic, $0.03 on Growth | $0.10 per extra MAU on Basic and Advanced (lower at higher tiers) | What each extra user costs once you pass the plan's included MAU. | |||
Read more in the TalkJS docs: Themes, Notifications, and Moderation.
Why TalkJS?
TalkJS has run chat in production since 2016 and delivers more than 130 million messages a month for customers in over 90 countries.
We were able to offload all messaging to TalkJS — hugely simplifying our development of an otherwise complex stack.
We've seen a 3x increase in booking conversion compared to our previous experience with a masked-SMS solution.
I demoed a working end-to-end chat conversation in our platform in just 2-3 days. The POC took less than an hour.
TalkJS pricing vs CometChat
TalkJS and CometChat both publish monthly prices by monthly active users (MAU). The table shows each vendor's price at 10,000, 25,000, and 50,000 MAU.
| TalkJS | CometChat | |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | Basic $239 | Basic $299 |
| 25,000 MAU | Growth $499 | Basic $699 |
| 50,000 MAU | Growth $1,249 | Basic $1,349 |
Prices are in USD per month, billed annually, as of October 2026. At 50,000 MAU, the TalkJS price is the Growth plan plus overage for each MAU over the 25,000 it includes: $499 + 25,000 × $0.03 overage = $1,249. See the current prices on the TalkJS pricing page and the CometChat pricing page.
Migrate to TalkJS from CometChat
To move from CometChat to TalkJS, you can bring your users, conversations, and messages over with the TalkJS data import API. Tell the TalkJS team about your setup in the form below to plan the move.
- Data import and export API on all plans
- Migration help from the TalkJS team
FAQs
As of October 2026, in USD per month billed annually: at 10,000 MAU, TalkJS Basic is $239 and CometChat Basic is $299. At 25,000 MAU, TalkJS Growth is $499 and CometChat Basic is $699. At 50,000 MAU, TalkJS Growth with overage is $1,249 ($499 plus 25,000 MAU at $0.03 each) and CometChat Basic is $1,349. Prices change, so check both pricing pages before you decide.
No. TalkJS doesn't have SOC 2 and doesn't sign a HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA). TalkJS is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant on all plans. CometChat has SOC 2 and offers HIPAA with a BAA on its Advanced plan, so if you need either, CometChat fits that requirement.
No. TalkJS is chat-first and has no native voice or video calling. You can integrate a calling provider of your choice next to TalkJS chat. CometChat has its own voice and video calling product.
Yes, on both. TalkJS theme components let you replace parts of the chat UI with your own React or Web components (see Themes). CometChat's React UI Kit is customized with CSS variables, sub-components, and message plugins.
Not on TalkJS. Email and SMS notifications are built in on all TalkJS plans, and SMS is charged separately. On CometChat, email and SMS notifications are on the Advanced plan and need your own SendGrid or Twilio account.
Yes. TalkJS development mode is free and includes all features. CometChat's Build plan covers up to 100 users.
Yes. The TalkJS Data APIs for JavaScript, Kotlin, Swift, and Flutter let you build your own chat UI and read, subscribe to, and update chat data in real time. CometChat's Chat SDKs are headless too, with SDKs for JavaScript, iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native, and Unreal.
Yes. The TalkJS data import and export API is available on all plans. For help planning the move, use the contact form.